Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's theme was:  Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

Thanks to Goodreads, this is an easy list to make, since you can sort your "To-Read" list by the date added. Here are my most recent:

Making Up For Monday: Author Avoidance

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Do you have an author who you refuse to read?

While I think "refuse" is a harsh word, there are a couple of authors I tend to avoid. After reading It in high school and being horrified at the ending, I have avoided Stephen King. While I am sure his other books don't contain graphic sex scenes with minors, I would rather not risk it.  

The second author is Stephanie Meyer. I have zero interest in the topics she chooses to write about, her writing style, or any of the movies that come with them. Its just not my style. 

 

What about you?  

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell: 2 Stars

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

You might know Chris Colfer from his role in the show Glee or you might not. At age 24, the young actor has only recently been brought into fame.  But that didn't stop him from publishing his own book series; a series he has been working on since childhood. 

In The Wishing Spell, Alex and Conner are 12-year-old twins who recently lost their father. Each twin is dealing with the loss in their own way: Alex is reading and studying more, while Conner is becoming more outspoken and hanging out with his friends. Even though they are opposites, the twins are still close and both concerned for their mother who has had to work extra hard to make ends meet. Lucky for them, they also have a grandmother who watches out for them and even gives them gifts, such as The Land of Stories, a book that has been in the family for years. But they soon learn it's no ordinary book when the kids fall in and find themselves in a world of fairy tales. 

The fact that Colfer started this as a young child is not surprising since it seems like it was written by one. The writing is weak, the characters are one-dimensional and generic, the plot is unimaginative (since it seems the be like a combination of many others), and the end result is boring.

The book contained several grammatical errors (I wish I had written a few down as examples, but I didn't).  Also, Colfer showed his inexperience and youth by immediately describing every character in detail when they were introduced. Most experienced writers find more creative ways to keep the story flowing and still describe the characters. Colfer had to stop progress in the story line to describe them. He also made the conversations in the book obnoxious by ending nearly every line with "said the character". By the time you were done reading the conversation, you were so sick and tired of hearing the word "said". These writing issues left the story choppy and were very distracting.

Both the main characters, Alex and Conner, were generic. There was the nose-stuck-in-a-book, teacher's pet, no friends, loner Alex.  And then there was the teacher's nightmare, snarky, popular, struggling in school Conner. The characters lacked any amount of depth. By the end of the book, neither character had grown or developed in any way. This made them a rather boring pair to read about.

The story itself left a lot to be desired. The story was essentially several other stories, just wrapped into one. There were elements of Inkspell, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, as well as some elements from popular shows and movies. The story felt like a redundant tale and seemed to lack imagination.

At the end of the day, Colfer has written an excellent FIRST DRAFT of a book. I really wish he had taken the time and energy to go back and rework this story into something much better. I think if he were not famous, no one would have even heard of this book.

That being said, for being so young and having so many other things on his plate, Colfer shows a lot of promise as an aspiring writing. He will only get better with time and a much more persistent editor. I would be interested to see what he produces in 10 to 20 years.

Rating: PG

Recommended for those who enjoy: fantasy, children's books and sarcasm.

Top 10 Books From My Childhood That I Would Love To Revisit

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This weeks theme was:  Top 10 Books From My Childhood That I Would Love To Revisit

Considering I am just a little over two months away from being a new mom, this topic is actually something I have thought about a lot. I want to read to my daughter and hope that she grows to love reading as much as I do. 

So here is my list of books that I LOVED as a young kid and hope that my daughter might enjoy:

1. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar: I honestly only remember one of the stories from this book (about a boy who could only get to the correct answer in math if he counted wrong), but I remember loving the quirkiness of this book.

2. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: This was a big part of my childhood and is already apart of my daughter's library.

3. You Are Special by Max Lucado: This is a popular one that reminds kids they are special just the way they are.
 

4. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary: I can't remember what happened at all in this book, but I remember not being about to put it down. It was my favorite book for a few years.

5. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieska:Here's another silly one that tells the tale of a few fairy tales from another perspective.

6. Love You Forever by Robert Munisch: This book will forever remind me of my dad becasue it makes him cry.

7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein: Isn't Shel Silverstein just awesome?  How can he not end up on this list twice?

8. The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky: I loved Prelutsky as a kid and couldn't get enough of his silly poems.

9. Frog and Todd are Friends by Arnold Lobel: Who didn't love Frog and Toad as a kid?

10. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: This one was one of my favorites.  Apparently it's been banned for being too scary for children, but isn't that the entire point?  Hence the title!

Making Up For Monday: Life Stories

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Do you have a favorite autobiographical or biographical book?

I actually really enjoy reading autobiographies and biographies. My favorite so far is John Adams by David McCullough becasue I am a giant nerd.  I learned so much about him and about the United States in its early years.

What about you? 

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This weeks theme was: Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

Since I NEVER read all the books I plan to read, I made the list shorter this time around.

Here's my top five: 

Making Up For Monday: Opening Minds

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What book would you recommend to a close-minded person?

This question is totally dependent on why the person is closed-minded. The reality is, we are all closed-minded in some way, shape, or form.  We all have things that we could be more open-minded about.

But here are a few books that may open up people's minds who have specific road blocks:

For the person who is closed-minded about professional sports being all about the game and not money and business: Moneyball by Michael Lewis.

There is so much more that goes into professional sports than I think the average person realizes. At the end of the day, it boils down to owners and money.

For those closed-minded about hermaphrodites: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Its actually far more common than most people think and society isn't always the best at dealing with this issue.

For those closed-minded about the human brain: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. 

Whether or not you believe in God, this is a great book to show us how our brain functions and how easily we can change. All too often we think we are immune to certain changes and think "I would never..." but none of us are immune. We all have weaknesses.

For those closed-minded about the human body: Stiff by Mary Roach

Mary Roach does a phenomenal job about opening up your mind to donating your body to science.

For those closed minded about mental disorders: Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Too often we look at mental illness as weakness that could easily be overcome if people just tried and weren't lazy.  This book takes two people who try very hard, but have disorders that they can't necessarily control.

What about you?

Ten Books For Readers Who Like to Laugh

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This weeks theme was: Ten Books For Readers Who Like _________

Since I recently finished a couple of rather funny books, I decided to go with the topic of humor.  So Here are my top ten books for people who like to laugh.

1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: 

 2. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

3. A Walk in the Wood by Bill Bryson

4. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

5. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

6. Holes by Louis Sachar

7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

 8. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

 9. Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (or anything else by her)

10. Following Atticus by Tom Ryan

Making Up For Monday: Changing Minds

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question:  Have you ever read a book that changed your opinion on a topic?

One of the reasons I love reading so much is that I learn, grow and have the chance of having my opinion changed. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen.

The biggest example of this is Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. 

This book made me WANT to donate my body to science after I die. Read it and tell me if it doesn't change your mind. 

What about you?  What book changed your mind? 

Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This weeks theme was: Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years

This was an easy list for me because I just used my Goodreads ratings.  Here we go! 


1. Shadow of the Wind by Carolas Ruiz Zafon:

2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens:

3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro:

5. The Screwtape Letter by C. S. Lewis:

6. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: 

7. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson:

8. Playing The Enemy by John Carlin: 

9. Calico Joe by John Grisham: 

10. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick: